Miserable Fate
by BlackBlood1872
Summary: It's after the fight with the lvl 4 and everyone is wary when it comes to Allen. All except one. Lavi has a plan and needs Allen in order to get it done. But with Allen's personally becoming more and more off, what will the result be? No Laven. Poker Pair
1. Bad Hand

_[Miserable Fate]_

_Disclaimer: I do not own -man. If I did, why would I keep writing these stories and not update? xD _

_A/N: Forgive me for the crappy chapter titles! Depression is the main cause of it all… The level 4 attack was solved quietly; very little loss. This is placed shortly afterward. Allen still stabbed himself, though. Set as if all the Noah were still alive. __Pairing is -eventually- Tyki/Allen_

* * *

Tyki wondered just why he had been assigned to kill the boy. He couldn't quite grasp the reason why the Earl gave this mission to him. Couldn't he have let Jasdebi or Skinn or even Road do it? Not that he didn't like the fact that he'd get to see 'Cheating Boy A' again, it was just that this time it wouldn't be for another fun game of poker. This time, the 'game' would be real.

* * *

_-Bad Hand-_

He had been dealt a bad card. He knew it wasn't something he'd like to keep, but unlike in any other _normal_ poker game, he couldn't switch it out. Part of him knew that it wasn't because it felt like a bad card; it was just that if he ridded himself of it, he'd be making a grave mistake. So he kept the card, although he truly did want to discard it. Life was unfair more often than not when it came to him.

Sighing, he ran a hand through his naturally messy, dark hair. The glasses he wore at the moment glazed over, proving it impossible to see his eyes through them. The male held his half-used cigarette to his lips, taking another long drag. Yes, this game would definitely be fun, to say the least. He smiled, rounding a corner to walk towards the mines he would be working at that day. But, just for now, the game would have to wait.

* * *

Things at the Order were… calm, for once. Not too many Akuma reports and even more than usual Innocence recoveries. This made some of the Exorcists nervous, but only a few. Lavi was one of the main four that noticed something out of place. His Bookman skills weren't really used in this scenario, but he was able to see that things couldn't normally go this well. The actual Bookman, according to Lavi, was lacking now-a-days if he couldn't see that. He just thought that maybe the Earl was taking a rest. Nothing odd about that, and it was a good turn of events for the Black Order. Lavi still didn't like it.

The next was Krory. He found out, actually, shortly after Lavi came to his conclusion. It really wasn't that hard to see that something was wrong. The Earl wasn't someone who just gave up on his plans, even if it was for a short while. Maybe it was an interlude of this grand-master 'Play' of his; but the 'show had just begun', or so he had said only a while earlier. It didn't make sense that he would just drop everything in the middle of it all. Lavi was right; it just felt wrong. Like the calm before the storm, or so they say.

Once Lavi told Lenalee about his and Krory's ideas on the matter, she, too, noticed that everything felt off. After all the times they met up with the Earl, accidentally or otherwise, he seemed like the person to follow things through without the slightest hitch. For someone like that to just abandon their plan… it wasn't plausible. The Earl would more than likely be planning something absolutely horrible to make up for lost time. Lenalee was sure about that. It hurt her inside to know that Komui didn't see what was wrong with things now. Everything just felt wrong.

Kanda, not wanting the Usagi to gloat for knowing something before he did, ("Told ya, Yuu!" came to mind) didn't say anything when he found out a day later than everybody else. He would have slapped himself right then and there if he didn't have that pride of his. To admit you're wrong was one thing; to admit you're slow was just something that made a large dent in Kanda's almost flawless armour. He surely would have hit himself unconscious by now, had the Order not needed all the Exorcists it had. But what was up with no one but these four realising what was going on?

This raised another question that they all wanted to get an answer to: What about Allen? Surely he would have noticed this before anybody else, but he hadn't said anything since the whole 'level 4' incident. Whenever any of them met up with the accused boy, he never said anything about what he thought the Earl might be planning. It only made him more suspicious in the eyes of the four. If Allen didn't want to be accused of being a Noah, saying something might help them think he wasn't. By not saying anything and still having that faked smile told them that the boy obviously knew something, but just wouldn't tell. It was unnerving.

Lavi wanted to believe in his friend, his 'little brother,' but he just didn't know anymore. What if Allen really was in league with the Earl; maybe even giving the Noah information on them? Lavi desperately wanted to believe that Allen wasn't a traitor, but the boy was making it hard to think otherwise. Lenalee was also wondering if the kind boy she knew was the same as the Allen that was suspected of heresy. Why heresy, though? Everyone should know that Allen would never do anything to try and harm the Order. Right?

Krory didn't like to think of bad things; he tended to try to avoid that at all costs. But now that this was brought to light -at least for the four of them- it was getting harder every day. He didn't want it to get to him, but every day that went by brought more and more horrific images of what the Earl might have in store. Kanda wasn't one to be scared easily; having been an Exorcist for so long does that to someone. It was just unexpected that he actually felt concern for someone. Concern for who, he didn't know exactly. Allen? Maybe, but he doubted it. Why would he be concerned about the Moyashi, anyway?

And it wasn't like any of them were going to bring this up to the superiors or even Komui. That might just land them in more trouble than Allen. They weren't going to mess with Inspector Leverrier C. Malcolm, either. It might just cost them their lives.

* * *

Lavi was able to find Allen (no surprise) in the mess hall after talking with Krory and the others. He was voted representative to go get Allen and bring him back to Lavi's room, where the other three were waiting. It also came as no surprise that Link was there as well. He would have to shake the stalkerish person from Allen's back before going anywhere. Walking up to their table, which was empty except for the two, Lavi sat down across from his friend.

"Yo, Allen!" he waved a hand, making said boy lift his head to stare at the red-head, a dango in his hand. Allen smiled, biting into the food item.

"Hi Lavi. How are things?" he inquired even though he still had food in his mouth. Link shook his head at this. Lavi held back a glare that was directed at the man. He couldn't have himself getting mad at him now. Anytime after this whole onslaught that was probably drawing near would be fine. It'd be better if Link died during the attack, though. Coming back to reality, Lavi leaned forward, his elbows on the table.

"Ne, Moyashi, can I talk to you for a bit?" then, staring at the person to the side, "Alone." Allen sighed, almost as if he knew this was going to happen. He turned slightly to look at Link before lowering his gaze to the remaining food on his plate. He wasn't feeling hungry anymore. And, noted by Lavi, wasn't acting like his usual self. He hadn't reacted at all to the nickname.

"Link, may I please speak with Lavi alone for a bit?" Allen asked, looking at his half eaten food with a look that was definitely sad. Link's eyes widened at the question. Allen continued as if he had seen the look but still hadn't moved his gaze, "Lavi is a bookman. He will be able to relay to you, word for word, what I say to him if you ask. You should know that. And besides, nothing I say will be proof that I am the Fourteenth," he looked up then, his eyes pleading. It was a rare sight nowadays, "Please, just let me speak with him,"

Link crumbled at the look. He sighed, nodded and stood up, leaving the mess hall. Once Allen was sure he was far enough away, he looked back at Lavi, sighing. He shot a look at Lavi at clearly stated, 'what is it?' Lavi, glancing nervously over his shoulder at the person who just left the hall, swallowed.

"Come on. We can go to my room," he stated, standing up, trusting Allen to follow him. He heard the sound of a chair scraping the floor and smiled. Maybe, just maybe, Allen still trusted him. Or maybe he was just following him because he knew he couldn't avoid it. Either way, Allen was coming with him. That was good. Or so Lavi believed as he smiled softly, leaving the hall and approaching his room.

* * *

Allen, to say the least, was surprised by what he found in Lavi's room. Or, who he found really. He shot a glare at the red-head a nanosecond after he heard the doors' lock click. Lavi just nervously smiled, walking over to and sitting on the bed. Lenalee was beside him while Krory was in a chair at the foot of the bed. Kanda was leaning against the wall, his eyes closed with that ever present scowl. All together, basically, the four formed a half-circle around him, his back practically against the locked door. His only escape now that access to the Ark was prohibited. It was his Ark, damn it!

No one seemed to care when Allen pulled over the one other chair, sitting on it with the back facing his stomach, straggling it with his own frown imprinted on his features. Either they didn't care, or they expected him to react like this. What was this whole thing anyway; an intervention? If so, for what? Allen let out a small, barely noticeable growl before dropping into his blank façade. Lenalee just barely blinked at this, but the cursed boy caught her reaction. She seemed upset about something.

Lavi coughed into his fist, drawing back Allen's attention, "Now that you're here and all-"

"I thought you said alone," Allen interrupted, his voice cold and harsh. Lenalee visibly cringed. Allen -although this sickened him- almost smirked at it. Ever since that shadow manifested, Allen didn't act like himself at certain times. And now was a really bad time for it to happen. Lavi coughed again, looking nervous.

"Yeah, uh, that was just to get two-spot to leave," he relied quietly, looking almost… guilty. _Was_ he guilty of something? Other than telling Allen the truth of course. Allen mentally rolled his eyes, only semi-conscious of the action. Lavi spoke up again, his voice coming oddly strong, "But, Allen, we need to talk to you. It's serious," Allen had guessed as much, but didn't voice that.

Lenalee sighed, but didn't say anything. It seemed like Lavi was the voted speaker in the group. Well, might as well hear them out. Allen nodded stiffly, accepting whatever was going on; Lavi grinned at him.

"Good. Now, Allen, answer us truthfully: what do you think about the events over the past month?" Lavi's voice was almost monotone, which just about scared Allen into dropping his 'poker face'. But it held fast, only a small amount of confusion leaking through.

"The past month?" he repeated, making Lavi nod, "Well, I think things have finally calmed down," Lavi just nodded again, curtly this time, and emotion that Allen didn't want to recall passing his features, "That's a good thing right? It means the Earl is probably taking a break or something…" Lavi growled, taking Allen by surprise. Had he said something wrong?

"No, no, no, NO!" he growled, though no one else in the room reacted. Allen wondered again why they were even here, "I meant, don't you find anything suspicious? Why would the Earl just stop?" he enticed, trying to get the white haired boy to react the way he wanted. Allen sighed, letting his façade drop. He ran a hand through his hair.

"Yes, I did notice. Alright?" he bit out, almost snarling. Lavi blinked. He had expected that, but he didn't think Allen would go through such a mood swing, "I noticed when he didn't do anything after the level 4 attacked. He got his egg back, so shouldn't he had made more Akuma by now?" the occupants of the room listened silently as he droned on, "My eye's been searching for them every night now, which only resulted in pain. You think I didn't notice?" Lavi just nodded dumbly, as did Krory slightly. Kanda tch'd at him.

"And, also, as a side note," he continued, though not on the same subject as before, "the Ark has been calling me, for some odd reason," Kanda half opened his right eye, staring the 'Moyashi' down. What did he mean by that? Allen sighed again, "The Ark is basically a living thing. It breathes; it feels; it _yearns_. For what, I'm not sure yet," Lavi just shook his head at this.

"Okay, that's all fine and dandy, but right now we're focusing on the Earl," Allen couldn't hold in the scoff. Kanda glared at him, ready to draw Mugen. Lavi gave him a side glance that stopped him, "Allen, we're just worried is all. No one but us five know that something's wrong. We need your help,"

Allen looked at the red-head, curiosity taking over. _Okay, what do they want?_ he mentally asked himself, staring at Lavi for the answer. Said male cleared his throat again, staring back at Allen full force.

"We need to use the Ark to find and stop the Earl. Once and for all."

* * *

A/N: And~ another new story that will more than likely die very some. **_REVIEWS_** are highly appreciated. I need a few ideas for the upcoming chapters. Just throw anything out there, I'd gladly take any advise you guys have :D


	2. Pawns and The Game

_Disclaimer: I do not own -man._

_A/N: This series will probably die very soon. Be considered lucky it actually got up on FFN. Chapter 3 will take a while… Lets see if I can make it a habit of updating this every 4 days… Probably not, but might as well try. Thanks for the [small amount of] reviews!_

* * *

_Allen looked at the red-head, curiosity taking over. Okay, what do they want? He mentally asked himself, staring at Lavi for the answer. Said male cleared his throat again, staring back at Allen full force._

"_We need to use the Ark to find and stop the Earl. Once and for all."_

_- - -Pawns and the Game- - -_

"What?"

Lenalee was the one to shout out, her gaze landing on a non-flinching Lavi as he stared steadily at Allen. The latter didn't respond, his calm look back in place. _Use the Ark? Finish off the Earl? Did Lavi honestly believe they could do that?_ Allen frowned, mulling this over. No way was Link going to let that slide. And if Link wanted to stop him, Leverrier was definitely not going to allow them to go through with whatever plan Lavi had concocted in that brain of his. Allen shrugged.

"Try as you will, that doesn't seem likely to happen with the position I'm in right now," Lenalee cringed at the thought. Allen stared at her, his eyes slightly narrowed. Why was she here anyway? He shook his head to clear it of those thoughts. He really wasn't acting like himself as of late. Maybe the Fourteenth really was… _No!_ He cut out the negative thoughts, trying to cover them with happy ones. The latter were few, and didn't seem to come to him quickly.

Krory, seeming to be acting wise for some reason, stood up slowly, before glancing at Lenalee, who stood as well. The two of them walked around Allen, leaving the room. He noted with a sour taste in his mouth that they locked the door again once they were outside. Didn't they trust him? But part of him was… oddly happy that they were gone. Maybe that half was the Noah… Allen bit his lip, trying to silence his thoughts, though this didn't help much.

Lavi sighed, continuing on as if the two either never left or were never there, "I _realise_ what position you're in, Allen, but this isn't something that could be stopped by that." it was firm, almost as if it were a command. This must be his bookman voice, Allen mused, a smirk _almost_ coming onto his lips. He was able to stop it in time, thankfully.

Running a hand through his hair, sighing again, Allen replied, "Try telling that to Leverrier or anyone else who seem to think I'm a Noah..," he mumbled, causing Kanda to growl now, before storming out of the room. Again the door was locked behind him, leaving the two boys locked into the room. Only God knew what the red-head was going to do. And too bad for Allen, since he didn't quite believe.

Lavi growled at him in response to his earlier statement, "I _know_, Allen! I fucking know what they think! All I'm trying to do is help, damn it!" he shouted, balling his hands into fists. Allen didn't react, having guessed he would snap eventually. And with no one else around, right now seemed liked a pretty good time to do so. Said white-haired boy sighed yet again.

"I get that you're trying to help, but what can you do in the face of your higher-ups?" he questioned, his voice still cold; his eyes seeming dead. Lavi grumbled at the boy. Allen continued, an almost joking, mocking tone clear, "And anyway, what if they're right?" Lavi snapped now, worse than before.

The redhead rose, growling as he stalked over to Allen who didn't seem to care. What he had said was pretty close to the truth right now, or seemed like it at least. He wasn't acting like himself… he paused, or was he? Maybe it was before of his 'mask of Mana' that he had acted so nice the past few years. No, there wasn't a question to it; he had acted like that naïve clown because of the 'mask.' It seemed that his true personality was hidden so well that he forgot it was what he was like before. Mana had been able to change him, or at least, will him to be nice in public even if it wasn't true. And after he had… Allen was just keeping up the façade because he was gone, wasn't he.

His eyebrows scrunched as he thought, ignoring his surroundings. He didn't even notice when Lavi stopped, standing in front of the dazed boy, anger almost visibly pouring off him. Allen did notice the other when -not so kindly- the redhead grabbed the front of his shirt, lifting him up slightly off of the chair. And if he squinted, Allen could just about see pain and sadness in the back of Lavi's eyes. Allen gulped.

"Are you saying..," Lavi started slowly, his voice almost cracking. His expression had softened some, but still held the property of anger, "Are you admitting it? Are you just going to crack under pressure, Allen..?" he paused, staring the younger in the eye. Allen looked away. "What happened to you? Aren't you even going to fight it… like you always do?"

Allen still didn't look up, even when he feel Lavi's hand vibrate slightly. Was he mad… or was from some sort of sadness he kept locked away? He looked up slowly, rebel tears unshed it the corner of his eye. It almost covered the slight golden coloring to them, but Lavi's sharp breath betrayed his small amount of hope.

"How am I supposed to fight something that's already taking over?"

* * *

Kanda would never admit it, but he did feel kind of bad for storming out of the room like that. But the Moyashi was just being so damn annoying! Annoying and so _stupid_. Couldn't he see that they were all trying to help? Baka Usagi said so, but he still ignored him, going on about the idiot 'higher-ups' as if he cared about what they thought. Leverrier could face his Mugen, Kanda growled.

His hand felt cramped, gripping Mugen this tight, but Kanda didn't care at the moment. He needed to get rid of this damn irritation before he killed someone. Or maybe he could kill someone to get rid of the irritation… It wasn't like Komui or anyone else thought less than that of him, but he couldn't find anyone to unleash his wrath onto… He grumbled, glaring at the empty hallways.

Sooner or later -Kanda couldn't remember how long he was roaming the halls- he ended up on the sand pit normally used for training. Shrugging, he jumped into the pit, Dropping off Mugen and grabbing one of the wooden practice swords. He'd end up breaking more than one of these dummy's today.

* * *

Lenalee sat on the couch in her brother's messy office; her head slumped against the back, her eyes slightly glazed. She was still thinking about what Lavi said earlier; about how he thought they could take the Earl. No, she knew that Lavi hadn't thought they could take the Earl. It would be… stupid and futile with their current power levels. And, anyway, how were they going to be able to find him? Lavi had said they could use the Ark, but how would they do that when the Player wasn't even able to go near it?

The girl cringed, bringing up her hand to cover her face. How could she… how could she have just called Allen that? He wasn't… he wasn't… A tear slid down her cheek, followed soon after by a stream coming from both her blank eyes. Lenalee leaned forward, burying her face in her hands. She couldn't stand this anymore…

* * *

No one except Jerry noticed when Allen didn't come down for lunch. It was starting to become normal that he didn't come down often, and the times he did, he'd just take his food and leave to eat somewhere else. It was easy to miss him if you didn't notice when he came in. But Jerry was the one who made the food for him, so of course he would notice when the little white-haired one wasn't there. Actually, he was surprised that nobody noticed the boy sometimes, what with the cart full of food he always pushed around.

That and everyone should be able to notice him now, what with the rumors flying around everywhere. And even without those, the young man's appearance was enough to draw at least a few pairs of eyes. No one his age had silvery white hair like he did. And that strange pentagon over his left eye had brought out the earlier rumors. It was the mark of the Akuma; of the enemy, but here was one of their own, an Exorcist, with one of the stars clearly visible above his eye.

He had said he was cursed; cursed for something horrible he did when he was younger. Very few knew what he did, and the few that knew said nothing of it. It's said that the boy had turned his step-father into an Akuma, but then, why hadn't that Akuma taken over the boys' body? Some believed that it did and the boy was really a spy for the Earl. The rumor continued to say that his father had cursed him, causing his hair to lose all its color, as well as making it so that his eye could see the spirits trapped in the Akuma. There were many other rumors, but these seemed to be true, because someone, apparently, confronted him on them. The boy had said nothing, only lowered his head in what seemed like pained sadness.

Jerry pitied the boy. He had been born with that Innocence of his -which was something odd even in this place-; had been abandoned by his original family; had been cursed by the only one who accepted him; and was now being called a traitor by the people he considered family. And yet, he still kept a smile on his face, as if nothing was wrong. The boy had courage, Jerry knew that all too well. I mean, he even went up against Kanda the day he got here.

And yet, no one else seemed to view the boy this way. And it was all because of things that he couldn't control. That and the damned Noah.

* * *

Lavi sat, slumped forward on his bed, his head held in his hands. Allen stared at him, not really conveying any emotion. The redhead hadn't said anything since Allen's little eye-color-changing incident. For this, actually, Allen was glad. He didn't want to explain anything to the Bookman; especially when he didn't know the answers himself. Said bookman sighed, lifting his head and running a hand through his messy hair.

Allen blinked uncertainly when the red-head grinned at him. His confused expression was quickly hid behind his mask, now just a glare pointed directly at the boy's one eye left. Now, if he could control fire with this gaze… Lavi coughed, bringing Allen back from his Lavi-screaming-in-pain-from-his-on-fire-eye fantasy.

"What?" he bit out, causing the red-head to flinch. He scratched at his head; maybe he was trying to get rid of any nervousness he had.

"Um… about the _plan_?" he asked, hushing the word 'plan' even though no one -or golem- was in the room. Allen rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and leaning back onto the door. He wouldn't have done this if the door wasn't there, seeing as the back of the chair was in front him, he would have leant back onto thin air.

What about it?" Allen knew what Lavi meant, but didn't feel like being kind to the boy right then. He paused, blinking as another uncertain look spread across his features. _Why didn't he care..?_ The cursed boy swallowed, trying to wash the unpleasant feeling away. He really needed to do something about that Noah before it disintegrated his whole persona…

"Are you going to help; 'cause I'm sure you're the only one that can control the ark," Lavi tilted his head to the side thoughtfully for a moment, "At least, the only one on our side…" Allen sighed again, but instead of running a hand through his own hair like he had done so many times before, he just glanced at his left hand.

Clenching it into a fist, he held it out to Lavi, a more Allen-like grin growing on the boys face, "I don't see the point in not trying, even though the plan seems a little iffy to me," he declared, his grin widening when Lavi copied his action, punching Allen's fist with his own.

"Yosh! Now we're one step closer to takin' down the Earl!" he cheered, pumping his fists into the air. Allen laughed, but underneath, he doubted the whole thing.

_Would they really be able to take him down? Would I be able to do that? Would I be able to go against… my own kind?__A fucked up ending, if I do say so myself. I feel like starting a DGM/FMA crossover. Actually, I think I might… After I finish the Tyki/Allen oneshot I started… ^_^; **REVIEW ONEGAISHITAMSU~!**_

* * *

A/N:


End file.
